McMANAMAN DELIGHTED TO BE THROUGH

Callum McManaman admitted it was a tough afternoon against Blue Square Bet Premier League side Macclesfield Town, but was happy that the team will be in the fifth round draw tomorrow.

“It’s massive to be in the fifth round draw and I know we were always focused on winning but when that moment actually comes it’s just a great moment.

“First half I thought we played well and you could see the difference between the two teams but it became more of a battle in the second half.

“We had to dig in and grind out the result which you always have to do in the FA Cup and I thought we did that really well.”

It took McManaman just five minutes of today’s game to show just how dangerous he can be, when he terrorised Thierry Audel down the left wing and was tumbled over in the box by the defender.

Speaking about the incident he said:

“When the ball came to me on the left from Jordi (Gomez) and I took a touch I didn’t think I was going to reach it in the box but the defender backed off and then realised he was going to have to commit himself to a tackle.

“I knocked it past him and then he clattered me and then all that mattered after that was that Jordi put it away.

“For myself it was a big moment because it gave me that confidence boost early on and I think I’ve got my form back now because I’ve not been at the top of my game recently.”

He finished by praising the solid defensive discipline of the team by saying:

“We scored an early goal and from then on in any game it is always important that you keep a clean sheet.

“As a team I think we defended well from front to back and that’s the reason we’ve gone through.”